Air Compressor Review

This is a lightweight pancake style tank version with an oilless compressor.  An oilless compressor means that there is no oil to lubricate the compressor.  Bostitch makes this low maintenance air compressor.  It is a 2 horsepower peak and 1.5 horsepower running, 135 psi maximum.  One thing to look at when purchasing an air compressor is it’s cubic feet per minute.  They are normally rated at two different pressures.  This particular model will put out 2.1 cfm, that’s 2.1 cubic feet per minute at 90 psi.  That isn’t a whole lot and is usually used to blow up air mattresses, filling up car tires and the like.

This air compressor took a while to reach up to 135 psi.  Tom and Dave tested the new compressor on an ordinary camping air mattress.  It took several minutes to get the queen size mattress to fill with air.  They decided an ordinary hair dryer might do the trick a little better.  A simple reason for that is that a hair dryer moves air at a high volume with low pressure and moves much more air at a lower pressure.  The air compressor moves less air at at a higher pressure.

The compressor works much better at a task like filling a car tire.  Interestingly enough the tire gauge that came with the air compressor kit work just as well as a more expensive model Dave had in his garage.